Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019 | Page 50

SPOTLIGHT
She dismissed these comparisons as ‘apples vs oranges’ and
turned and walked away, calling me a Putinist.
Freeland told Masha, a young Ukrainian immigrant, “The
situation is like Maidan (Kiev).” She was referring to the 2014
coup against the legitimate Ukrainian government (second
Orange colour revolution). This is absolutely true.
Masha agreed and told her how Ukrainians were unhappy,
not only with the current post-coup, pro-US government there,
but also regret the collapse of the Soviet Union, when they
could travel freely in the Soviet Union, and their lives were
secure, their general living standard far better.
Of course, Freeland likes the mess Ukraine is now in
thanks to our meddling. She and western politicians in general
are blind to what the common folk think. I ask you to imagine
what Venezuela would look like after a US invasion or just
a US-backed insurgency. But then you can tell me what
hell Afghanistan has been through after a similar invasion,
or Chile in 1973, or Ukraine since the 2014 coup. Zealous
promoters of US-style democracy like Freeland couldn’t
care less.
By forfeiting Canada’s time-honoured reputation as a
mediator in world aff airs, our foreign minister deserves
sanction. Freeland has left it up to Canadian citizens to pursue
the truly diplomatic course.
The great game is not for the faint-hearted. Venezuela’s
state-run energy giant PDVSA is relocating its European
offi ce to the Russian capital because of high risks of potential
confi scation of oil revenues amid US sanctions against the
country’s energy sector if the coup plans succeed.
The Venezuelans can see their future – if the US gets its
way – in the travail of the Taliban and the Afghan people – the
prospect of two decades of civil war and tragedy. That can
only make them more determined to keep the gringo at bay,
and to look for dependable allies, including India. In contrast
to the US fake humanitarian aid on off er, Russia is providing
genuine no-strings-attached humanitarian goods to Venezuela
in exchange for crude, according to Anton Pokatovich, chief
analyst at investment bank BKS Premier.
India’s challenge and opportunity
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Foreign Minister
Swaran Singh condemned the 1973 coup and the erosion of
democracy in Chile which the US precipitated. Gandhi even
warned of “big external forces” combining with “internal
vested interests” to produce a similar coup in India.
India has suff ered for centuries from imperialist intrigues
and should not be fooled by the current imperial power, the
US, with its ongoing intrigues. India traditionally sought for
peace and noninterference in Afghanistan’s aff airs, preferring
a stable secular regime, as happened before the US-backed
mujahideen uprising in the 1980s.
India wisely refused to support that plan, which resulted
in the rise of radical Islam around the world, a nightmare we
all still live with. Similarly, Prime Minister Modi’s refusal
to kowtow to the US over Venezuela shows its principled
policy in international aff airs, based on peace and respect
for other nations.
In sum, Venezuela’s tragedy is being addressed responsibly
by India. By innovating in trade using barter, fi lling the gap in
Venezuelan exports by buying its oil, by focusing on India’s
high tech nongeneric pharmaceutical industry as a vital
import for Venezuela, India is playing a responsible role in
overcoming a burning international problem.
The US tried to checkmate Venezuela and overturn two
decades of building a society based on social justice in the face
of US intrigues. How will this game end? A draw, a perpetual
check, a checkmate? It is a perilous moment for Venezuela
and indeed the world, but India is supporting the underdog
fi ghting the bully. It is on the right side of history. 
* Author is a journalist specializing in the Middle East,
Central Asia and Russia. A graduate of University of Toronto
and Cambridge in economics, he has been writing on East-
West relations since the 1980s.
50 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida